Friends, this is one healthier and tastier stir fry. Best of all, is not take out, you made it! Oh and one more thing, where the heck can you get a meal like this for $2.99 a piece? Only at your home. Winner!
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Approximate Cost: $5.97 or $2.99 per serving
Difficulty Level:    X     Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients for the Stir Fry Tenderloins ($3.22)
1 pack of cubed pork tenderloin (@ $3.46/tenderloin, 1/3 tenderloin cubed cut) = (.87)
1 tbsp. basting oil (.40)
½ broccoli crown (.50)
3 cloves of garlic (.15)
3 colored peppers (.20)
1 handful of snow peas (.35)
½ large onion (.20)
Soy sauce to taste (.55)
 
Ingredients for the Quinoa (2.75)
1 cup of quinoa (1.00)
2 cups of organic beef broth ($1.00)
1 tsp. Angie’s basting oil (.40)
1 tsp. my Angie’s dry seasoning (.35)
 
Directions for the Quinoa
Add to a saucepan 2 cups of organic beef broth, 1 tsp. basting oil, 1 tsp. my dry seasoning and bring it to a quick boil.
Add 1 cup of quinoa to the boiling broth, stir, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
 
Directions for the Tenderloins Stir Fry
Early this week, you supposedly clean and cut 1/3 of the pork tenderloin in cubes for stir fry later in the week. Smile.
Season with 1 tbsp. basting oil and few drops of soy sauce.
Sauté in a skillet, when golden brown, remove and sauté all the other veggies.
When they are all done and still with bright colors, add soy sauce to taste, and more basting oil if needed.
Serve over a bed of quinoa.
Enjoy!
 
My Links:
Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings
Angie’s Basting Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil
 

Lately, I am making more quinoa than rice. The reason is twofold; healthier and great flavor. I know that regardless of what you make, the flavors come from the ingredients that you use to enhance the dish. However, what I like about quinoa is that after cooked is softly crunchy. Smile.
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 30 Minutes
Approximate Cost: $7.88 or $3.94 per serving
Difficulty Level:      X   Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients for the Pork ($2.73)
6 diagonal slices of Pork tenderloin (@ $3.46/tenderloin, ½ tenderloin renders 6 cuts) = ($1.73)
1 tbsp. Weber Roasted Garlic and Herbs (.30)
1 tsp. Angie’s Dry Seasoning (.30)
1 tbsp. Angie’s Basting Oil (.40)
 
Ingredients for the Quinoa ($5.15)
1 cup of quinoa (1.00)
2 cups of organic beef broth ($1.00)
1 tsp. my basting oil (.40)
1 tsp. my dry seasoning (.35)
¼ cup of basil pesto (either purchased or made at home) ($1.10)
 
1 avocado and few basil leaves to garnish ($1.30)
 
Directions
Get the tenderloin slanted steaks and marinate with 1 tbsp. Weber Roasted Garlic and Herbs, 1 tsp. Angie’s Dry Seasoning and 1 tbsp. Angie’s Basting Oil. Refrigerate.
 
Add to a saucepan 2 cups of organic beef broth, 1 tsp. basting oil, 1 tsp. my dry seasoning and bring it to a quick boil.
Add 1 cup of quinoa to the boiling broth, stir, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
 
While the quinoa cooks, add the tenderloin steaks to a hot skillet, using their own oil marinade. Cook until golden but do not overcook. Remove and let them rest.
Just before serving add ¼ cup of basil pesto to the quinoa, stir well and serve it immediately.

My Links:
Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings
Angie’s Basting Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil

I know what you are thinking; however, I love to make all kinds of bean chili’s and trust me, with black-eyed peas it doesn’t get any more southern and tastier than that, smile. Furthermore, it’s so creamy and yummy. You can make this meal in no time, is pretty fulfilling and for $3.80 per serving I am sure that I won’t find many complainers. The avocado is a must and if you want, go ahead and add a spinach and tomato salad as a side.
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Approximate Cost: $7.61 or $3.80 per serving
Difficulty Level:    X     Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
1 cup of pork tenderloin cut in 1” cubes ($1.96)
1 tbsp. Adobo (.15)
1 tbsp. of Angie’s Basting Oil (see my link below) (.40)
1 can of Black-Eyed Peas ($1.15)
2 tbsp. tomato sauce (.15)
2 tbsp. minced dried onions (.25)
½ cup dried potato flakes (.50)
2 cups of beef broth ($1.25)
1 tbsp. olives (.40)
2 scallion springs chopped for garnish (.15)
1 avocado cut in half ($1.25)
 
Directions

1. Season the pork with Adobo and my basting oil or the one of your choice.
2. In a skillet on med high, sear the pork to brown it, remove and set aside.
3. In the same skillet with the oil, add the black-eyed peas, tomato sauce, dried onions, dried potato flakes, beef broth, olives and bring it to boil.
4. Reduce to med low, taste to adjust saltiness if needed, cover and cook for 6-7 minutes.
5. Add the cooked pork, bring to another boil, turn the heat off and you are ready to serve your chili once you have chop some scallions and peel your avocado.

 
Enjoy!
 
My Link:
Angie’s Basting Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil
 

This is one of my favorite hacks. I love to have my meats already cut and identified for what I will be making with them during the week. Easy does it, is a no brainer to get a pack from the freezer in the morning, place it in a plate in the fridge to defrost and use it that day for your evening dinner.
 
As you can see, this is the smaller 2-in-a-pack sold at grocery stores, instead of the large 4-in-a-pack sold at your local COSTCO, Sam’s warehouses. This is what I did with this 2 pork tenderloins:
 

1. I saved one long uncut tenderloin to roast in the oven with root veggies next week;
2. I cut the other tenderloin to use in 3 separate meals; stir fry pork; pork chili and sautéed steaks with basil quinoa. These meals will render 2 servings each.

 
This week I will be giving you all the recipes to complete these meals. However, I am giving you an assignment now: Go purchase the 2- in-a-pack pork tenderloins and do the cuttings as I did, freeze them and be ready for my recipes to use them during this week.
 
Done! 

​I came across this recipe on line and thought it was not going to be as good as the store bought. So, since it sounded kind of interesting, I decided to test it at home to decide if this cake was as good as the real thing. Well, I was impressed, it’s the closest that you can make without having the store’s original recipe, smile. I will be making this cake again, I love it, it goes perfect with a nice cup of coffee or as a stand-alone dessert. Who would have thought?
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: The whole process is about an hour.
Approximate Cost: $9.95 or .99 cents a slice
Difficulty Level:     X    Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 9 to 10 slices
 
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (.67)
1 cup sugar (.50)
1 tsp. vanilla extract ($2.00)
1 tsp. lemon extract (.20)
3 eggs room temperature (.48)
Zest of 1-2 lemons (.20)
1/3 cup lemon juice ($1.00)
1 1/2 cups flour ($1.25)
1/2 tsp. baking soda (.15)
1 tsp. baking powder (.15)
1/2 tsp. salt (.10)
1/2 cup oil ($1.25)
 
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar ($1.00)
2 tbsp. milk (.20)
1 tbsp. lemon juice (.35)
1 tsp. lemon extract (.20)

Simple Syrup
 ½ cup granulated sugar (.25)
 ¼ cup reserved lemon juice
 ¼ cup water

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of a mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat well to combine (mixture will be fairly dry).
Add in eggs and beat until well combined. Add vanilla and lemon extracts, lemon zest and lemon juice and beat until well combined.
3. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix on low until just starting to combine, then add in oil, and continue mixing until well combined, but do not over mix.
5. Pour batter into a 9x5 loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
6. Bake for approximately 45 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
8. Make the simple syrup. In a small saucepan, whisk together the simple syrup ingredients over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Poke holes in the cake loaf with a toothpick. Pour syrup over the cake. Remove from pan carefully, plate it and allow it to cool.
9. Combine icing ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. If a thicker icing is desired, add more powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time. If a thinner icing is desired, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time.
10. Remove loaf from pan and pour or spoon glaze over the top. Allow icing to set up for 20+ minutes, then slice and serve.
 
NOTE: I decided to use cake flour instead of all-purpose, as well as peanut oil.

Just recently, I was shopping at Trader Joe’s and came across this interesting Red Lentil Pasta. Of course I bought it, I had to try it. It was not bad at all; it tastes just like your regular pasta, however, it’s organic and gluten free, therefore, healthier. As always, you know that it will all depend on the ingredients you decide to use to provide that needed flavor and while you are t it, don’t be shy and add as much as you feel it will make it taste amazing!
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Approximate Cost: $13.32 or $6.66 per serving
Difficulty Level:     X    Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
2 haddock filets ($6.52)
2 tbsp. Angie’s basting oil  (see my link below)(.45)
1 tbsp. Weber Roasted Garlic & Herbs (.35)
1 tsp. Weber Chicken Seasoning (.35)
2 cups of red lentil pasta ($1.25)
¼ cup of basil pesto ($1.20)
2 small broccoli crowns (.85)
6 large baby Bella mushrooms ($1.10)
1 avocado slice in half ($1.00)
Directions
Clean and season the fish with 1 tbsp. Webber Roasted Garlic & Herbs, 1 tsp. of Webber Chicken Seasoning and 1 tbsp. of basting oil. Refrigerate until cooking time.
Sauté the mushrooms in 1 tbsp. of basting oil, when done, remove from skillet.
Boil the pasta according to the bag directions. (or until is soft enough to your taste and don’t forget to add salt to the water)
Add the broccoli to the pasta to cook for about 3 minutes, remove from the pot and place in iced water to stop cooking and keep the bright green.
Meantime, sear the fish in their basting oil seasoning until it looks a bit white. When done, remove from skillet and keep the oils to use for the pasta sauce.
When the pasta is ready, drain it and transfer it to the skillet where you cooked the fish. Stir it well. Then, add the cooked mushrooms and the basil pesto at the last minute, stir and if needed, add extra basting oil to make it look a bit runny and shiny.
Now you are ready to plate, I love to use a soup dish, then add the pasta at the bottom, top it with the fish and garnish with broccoli and few pesto leaves.
 
Note: (You will have plenty of pasta for more servings)
 
Enjoy!
 
My Link: Angie’s Basting Oil:  www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil

 WILD HADDOCK
If you need to cook for two and you purchase your groceries at COSTCO, SAM’s OR BJ’s then you will benefit from the great prices you get as well as the amounts. But what to do with so much food? Easy, just prep and freeze. For instance, I purchased this wild haddock and since the filets were quite large, I decided to cut them to make 3 separate meals.

1. The 4 smaller filets I could use for two servings of fish and shrimp garlic sauce pasta.
2. The two larger filets I could use as stand-alone fish meal over sautéed cauliflower-mushrooms and garlic rice and avocado.
3. The last large filet I would cut it in 1” pieces marinate it and use it in Chinese stir fry with any other seafood I may have in the freezer, over white rice.

 
All these to show you that purchasing groceries in these large warehouse stores is a convenient way to save money and time; however, we must be creative in your kitchens and avoid waste of precious food, smile.
 
NOTE: stay tuned, I will make some meals with these nice wild haddock pieces and will provide you  at least one recipe on separate posts this week, maybe Thursday.

​ 
There aren’t many meals packed with protein and fulfilling as anything made with eggs. These little rascals had a setback in the past, when the medical guru’s targeted them as somewhat unhealthy for your diet. As anything in life, eggs should be eaten in moderation, especially if you have medical conditions that could be impacted by eating one or more of them daily.  Furthermore, is always important to consult with your doctor to ensure that you are consuming the specific number of eggs daily or weekly to follow a healthy diet.
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Approximate Cost: $5.54 or $2.77 per serving
Difficulty Level:     X    Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 2
 
Ingredients
4 large eggs (.64)
4 slices of Smoked Salmon ($3.00)
2 Toast (.20)
6 Cherry tomatoes (.40)
2 tsp. Chives or scallions (.20)
2 tsp. Tzatziki Sauce (.25)
Half a lemon (.25)
Salt and pepper to taste (0)
4 slices of whole grain bread (.60)
​
Directions
Spray the poaching molds with cooking oil. Add salt and vinegar to a poaching pot with boiling water.
Crack one egg into each compartment, reduce the heat and cover.
Simmer for about 4-5 minutes, or until the egg whites have set, and the yolk still looks runny. (If your family likes them well-cooked, let them cook over 5 minutes.) (I prefer to serve one soft and one hard) (Remember to spoon the eggs out of the molds carefully, since they will still have some hot water.)
While the eggs cook, assemble your plates with toast, salmon, egg, Tzatziki, salt and lemon juice to taste.
Enjoy.